When you have an artsy kid you will be amazed at all the products available to them that you may never have heard of! When I was given the chance to have Skyler use and review the Rigid Wrap and CelluClay Quik-Sculpting Kit from ACTIVA Products I was sure to jump on that offer. The company also included a wonderful e-book called ACTIVA Products' Favorite Sculpture KIDS CRAFTS that was full of projects ideas as well. It was great having pictures and directions for projects for those of us who were completely unfamiliar with the product. This is similar to paper mache but way cooler according to my kiddo.
Skyler was eager to try it out I on the other hand was a tad bit scared because honestly it looked hard! I am so grateful God gave me a big brave girl though because she was such a trooper! Out of all the possible projects she chose a simple one since she had never used this before and wanted to get a good idea of how it worked and what she could do with it. We received a box of two rolls of the Rigid Wrap and one bag of the powdered CelluClay. There are some directions included in the box for some Rigid Wrap projects but the e-book is much better!
One of our favorite places to go is Dudley Farms. It is almost an hour away and in our opinion worth the drive! Every now and then they do these programs and we try to make it a point to go, This one was Christmas in July. The kids made some crafty ornaments by hand just like way back when! There were three choices and Skyler made two of them. The first one being a cute little felt mouse with a candy cane tail.
Skyler adores little rodents so of course she made a mouse! Next up was some thick paper snow flakes. We make these just about every year for a school room decorations but these were a bit more because she used a pattern, this is something we have never done so it was pretty neat!
So as with any other summer I had to redo my schoolroom! Sadly in the middle of this my camera vanished so all I have is my phone now and the pictures are not the greatest! This is my schoolroom when you stand in front of the room. I just walk in a circle and take pictures.
I really tried to make it a funschool room this year! Their baskets are every where for different stuff and it is pretty open as far as they can do whatever they want at any time. I also had to include Skylers Magic School stuff as well. She isn't so much into Harry Potter the character more like the world he lived in. I believe education is more fun when you can add in what interests your child so their schoolroom reflects this. I also am big on decorating with their art and projects.
With my son moving into the high-school years I am trying to get him more into studying literature. I had never even heard of Hewitt Homeschooling before so this was a great introduction to their products. Since my son Fox is really into American History I was thrilled to receive the American Literature: Mid-Late 19th Century course. My kiddo adores history but American is his favorite so when I want him to try something out I aim to stick with what I know will grab his interest.
For the review we were all sent the student and teacher guides for the course. There are books of course to go along with it. If you are not purchasing from the company they do suggest you get the unabridged copies of the books for your student. I was also pleased to see the student guide had poetry already included in it. I think all kids should at least be exposed to poetry even if they don't strive to become a poet! I really like courses that broaden the horizons so to speak.
For years we had been set with our math program. There was no need to look anywhere else in my opinion because they were doing great with what we had. Sadly last year that stopped being the case. I have tried a few things and when the chance to review the UnLock Math program came up I jumped on it. While the program offers different topics we are using the UnLock Pre-Algebra. I am so glad I did too! My son Fox is doing wonderful with it and he doesn't complain! That is a HUGE bonus right there, the lack of complaint. He is also learning which is obviously the most important thing of all. Math is a giant struggle in our house. My children all take after me with the math, it just doesn't click in our heads so to speak! Finding this program was a blessing.
This is a full and complete curriculum and will take about nine months to complete when used daily. Of course with it being an online program your child can finish faster or take longer. It is best in my opinion to go at the child's pace and not push a time table on them causing unneeded stress.
Now onto the program! You will start by setting up your parent account. It is easy as pie by the way! You add your students and they assign them a log-in and you pick a password. Now the students can still get to their assignments if you sign on with the parent account which is what my son does because he hates to remember passwords and since google stores mine he just goes with it. I will say that signing is is not an issue or a problem at all either.
Since my son had had such fun with Memoria Press First Form Greek when the chance to review one of their science programs came up I had to jump on it! I just love using this wonderful products. Memoria Press provides the most beautiful classical christian curriculum and Nature's Beautiful Order is no exception! I have an animal kid so this was right up her alley. This is perfect for students in 6-8 grade and even a great supplement in higher level Biology. She has truly enjoyed her trip through the animal kingdom.
This is an 18 week course but, of course with homeschool you can always make your own schedule. Skyler treated her student book more as a reader. we started on the table and about an hour later she was snuggled on the couch! The set consists of a teachers key, a student book and a student workbook. The cost of the program is just $45.00 so not a huge expense at all.
